DES MOINES, Iowa — A bill at the statehouse aiming to change penalties for those who cause a pregnancy to be terminated without the mother's consent has been tabled.
Iowa Senate Republicans and Democrats shared concerns about what could be considered an "unborn person" under the language of the bill, and the impacts it could have on families using in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The legislation left no clauses or exceptions for embryos used for IVF.
Over at Mid-Iowa Fertility, Dr. Don Young says legislation proposed recently that could have an impact on fertility treatments has his patients concerned about their future abilities to start a family.
"We are getting calls every day about patients who are worried about this," Young said.
Over 700 babies were born in Des Moines last year from fertility treatments like IVF, according to Young, and over 100,000 were born in the U.S. using the technology.
"One thing to keep in mind with this is we have millions of frozen embryos in the United States. Those embryos will not become a person unless they survive a thaw, be put in the uterus, not miscarry, and then be delivered. Otherwise, they're just frozen and then never become a person," Young said.
Two of those babies born via IVF belong to the Gookin family who says if IVF wasn't an option, they may not be able to grow their family.
"It was pretty much like a 99.9% chance that we had to do IVF, and actually, my husband is an IVF baby. So, we found that out throughout the process as well," Rachel Gookin said.
Even though the bill impacting IVF was put on pause, the Gookins have an uneasy feeling about the future.
"It makes me terrified if we want to have another child of what is going to happen with our embryos, if it's going to be a possibility on if we could have a child in Iowa," Rachel added.
Young said the bill's ramifications would be significant.
"If they take the step of considering an embryo as a person that's frozen, then that impacts everything an IVF center does, and will shut them down. Because you won't be able to take the risk of mishandling an embryo being accused of wrongful treatments, wrongful death, criminal charges against the doctor or the clinic, or against the patients," Young said.
It's important to note that House File 2575 has been put on pause, which means it could be brought onto the Iowa Senate floor if legislators decide to. As of Friday, it is not scheduled for debate.